Arsenal v Bayern Munich Champions League Preview Wednesday First Leg

Arsenal host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League match this Wednesday. In my preview for this match-up I have included my prediction along with betting odds.

Arsenal

Arsenal’s 2-1 home win in the FA Cup on Sunday was desperately needed, and not just to rectify the previous 5-1 drubbing they took from Liverpool. After failing to win in back to back matches the win was a much needed boost for their confidence going into Wednesday’s Champions League clash.

In Arsenal’s Champions League group stages they came in second behind Borussia Dortmund having won four and lost two. They scored 8 goals while allowing 5 and had a decent conversion rate of 15% while averaging just over 1 goal per game.

Arsenal’s injury list has been rather long recently and includes Santi Cazorla (who may be fit in time for Wednesday), Abou Diaby, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Thomas Vermaelen, and Kim Kallstrom while also missing Mikel Arteta with a one match ban.

Bayern Munich

FC Bayern’s fantastic run of form has continued from last season straight into this season. They have dominated the Bundesliga yet again with a 19-2-0 record to give them 59 points, 16 ahead of second placed Bayer Leverkusen.

They remain in the DFB Pokal as well after their recent 5-0 away win over Hamburger SV and recently defeated Freiburg 4-0 in the Bundesliga.

In the Champions League they won their group despite losing their last match at home to Manchester City. They were held to under two goals in just one match, the 1-0 away win over Vittoria Plzen. In fact, that was the last time, in all competitions, that they were held to scoring less than two goals in any match. They have also scored in every single match of this season in all competitions.

In the Champions League they have averaged just under 3 goals per game with 17 scored while allowing just 5. They also averaged 68% possession with 89% pass completion rate.

Bayern Munich has several key players out injured including Franck Ribery, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Holger Badstuber.